Welcome to the February 2019 Super Snow Moon in Virgo, Pisces Solar Festival Cosmic Weather Forecast. Your co-Editors, Curtis and Jane, offer warm greetings from sunny South Florida, as residents of the Midwest and Northeast United States brace for yet another winter storm.
Here in Jane's garden in Boca Raton, the temperatures are consistently 6-8 degrees above normal, day and night. This time of year in Florida many plants flower and pollinate wildly. With the high humidity and warmer temperatures it looks and feels like the height of spring, or even early summer. There's so much pollen in the air these days that just being outside for a half hour swim can bring on a sneezing festival!
Our swimming pool is getting bombarded with large numbers of small male pine cones that drop more or less simultaneously with wind pollination in the spring, and threaten to cover the surface of the pool with a thin layer of pollen. Using the net several times a day controls the proliferation of small cones but there's no way to capture the pollen once it diffuses into the water.
It's hard to believe it's February!
"Spring leaf out is spreading north through Southwest and Southeast states" according to The National Phenology Network's Status of Spring Report. Phenology is the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life. "Spring is 15 days early in Nashville, TN and 6 days early in Norfolk, VA."
The First Leaf Index map below shows locations that have reached the requirements for the start of spring according to the National Phenology Network Spring Leaf Index model so far this year. As you can see, a broad swath of the western and southern United States from Sacramento to Dallas to Charlotte and all points south has already reached springtime conditions.
As you know this monthly newsletter charts the cyclical and seasonal astrological and climatological changes in our environment, a practice that was essential to the spiritual practices of those who crafted the ancient wisdom teachings of both East and West.
Changes in the stars and seasonal variations in the environment were charted and analyzed, leading to the invention of the arts and sciences of mathematics, accounting, astronomy, architecture, irrigation, and agriculture, facilitating the rise of large human settlements and the evolution of what we now call civilization.
Now the global climate is changing, quickly and at scale.
Spring comes earlier every year, and not just in Florida! Fall is diminished and shortened.
Winter and summer temperatures are characterized by periods in which temperatures are more similar than in the past, punctuated by extreme weather events that see spikes in precipitation and temperatures beyond what we think of as normal seasonal variation.
Do we need to redefine the seasons for a new Anthropocene Age of climate change?
Theresa Crimmins, assistant director of the USA National Phenology Network, an organization of thousands of volunteers and scientists monitoring the cyclical behavior of plant and animal life across the country, says it's not as simple as all that.
Crimmins points out that there are three ways to define the seasons: climatological, astronomical and biological.
From the astronomical perspective seasonal change is all about changes in the availability and strength of light throughout the day. In America, winter occurs when the northern pole of the Earth tilts slightly away from the Sun, and spring returns when the northern pole of Earth tilts back toward the fusion reactor that centers our Solar System. Daylight hours are shorter in winter, and UV radiation decreases on the ground. Summertime brings long days and stronger UV rays send us scrambling for sunscreen.
The four cross-quarter days, which have coincided with major spiritual festivals in Wisdom traditions of both East and West, are closely correlated with major shifts in the seasons, from an astronomical perspective, and they are all about changes in the patterns of light, as perceived by observers on the ground.
The longest day of the year is the Summer Solstice, around June 21, and the shortest day is the Winter Solstice, around December 21. The spring equinox and the autumn equinox, on March 21 and September 21, celebrate the approximate equality of day and night.
These four crucial days of the year are unaffected by climate change, so their significance will not diminish over time, as we move more deeply into the increasingly turbulent climatological regime that will characterize the new Anthropocene Era crafted by human beings, consciously and unconsciously, wittingly or unwittingly as the case may be.
Most people do not base their perceptions of seasonal change on the cross-quarter days, but rather on changes in perceived climate. People feel the three warmest months are summer, the three coldest months are winter and the remainder are divided between spring and fall.
In North America, when long, hot summers extend into the fall months, we feel that fall has been truncated. When winter storms manifest unexpectedly in March, April, October or November, we feel that winter is longer than normal.
Across much of Asia, people's perceptions of seasons are quite different, and revolve around a bipolar model which focuses on the rainy season and the dry season. Some say this is true of tropical climates, and even of semi-tropical regions such as Florida, but Jane and I can say from our experience that Florida still displays the four seasons typical of North America, although the seasonal variability in temperatures is muted compared to what you might see in New York.
The third way seasons are defined relates to the biological cycles of plants, and to a lesser extent animals. We know spring is here because brilliant blossoms blanket the ground around us with bright colors, a welcome development after months of gray days and barren trees and shrubs.
But now spring arrives early, and autumn's display of colorful fall foliage is a flash in the pan, squeezed between longer summers and longer winters.
We may be tempted to readjust our concept of seasonal change in response to the biological rhythms of the plant world. After all, perhaps the most immediately important aspect of the early astronomers and astrologers would have been to calculate seasonal changes in order to manage water resources and planting calendars, in an effort to maximize plant growth, which was essential for community survival in early agricultural societies.
Spring weather conditions may arrive earlier in the year, but plants don't always bloom in response to the onset of increased warmth alone. Many plants have intricate internal clocks that view early onset spring as an anomaly that will be followed by a cold snap. These plants don't flower unless warmth coincides with the proper angle of the sun's rays. And these plants are now at a competitive disadvantage in our new world of anthropocentric climate change. Botanists say these plants are beginning to disappear.
For the foreseeable future, the ancient model of the seasons based on changes in the duration and quality of the light around us will remain the gold standard for determining the seasons on planet Earth, and Jane and I will continue to report on the astrological, biological, spiritual, and climatological variations of the seasonal cycle, which has been the basis of Wisdom teachings of the East and West for thousands of years.
Super Snow Moon in Virgo, Pisces Solar Festival Cosmic Weather Forecast
This month's Super Snow Moon peaks on Tuesday, February 19, at 10:53 A.M. EST, at 0°42' Virgo, opposed by the Sun in Pisces. This Super Moon will appear full for at least a day before and after the moment of the official Full Moon and will be the nearest, biggest and brightest of the year.
This Super Snow Moon features a predominance of Earth and Water in a set of harmonious and beneficial relationships that will resonate throughout the year, to the extent that they involve major outer planets, as we shall see.
This Full Moon, the Sun, Mercury and Neptune are all in Pisces, creating a dreamy atmosphere that offers welcome respite after the last few months of intense energy signatures, especially the Uranus-Mars conjunction in Aries. This is a great Full Moon for romance, creative endeavors and spiritual practices involving the opening of the compassionate heart and selfless service to others.
It is important under a watery influence like this to maintain boundaries, practice discernment and filter incoming communications to avoid being manipulated by Neptunian deception. We must remain aware of being mesmerized by astral glamours arising from our own desires and projections, and of seeing events and others with the proverbial rose colored glasses until it's too late.
Fortunately, this month there is a triple conjunction of Saturn, Pluto and the South Node in Capricorn, so Saturn will be extra powerful and sextile to the stellium of planets in Pisces, especially Neptune, creating a strong impulse to clearly define boundaries, and to channel the dreamy, creative, expansive, spiritual energies of Neptune in Pisces into achievable visionary projects that we can manifest through the power of our focused intent and persistent application of diligent energy in alignment with the projected goal.
The Triple Conjunction in Capricorn will be "in orb" as the astrologers say, through February of 2020, so this strong, grounding energy sets the tone for the entire year ahead of us, and beyond.
Outer planet aspects mainly deal with cultural shifts and elements of collective consciousness, and it is in this realm that the long term energy signature of Saturn, Pluto and S. Node in Capricorn will have the most potent impact.
The South Node represents recurring patterns of behavior, the seeds of our karma, so to speak.
Here we must recognize the ways we choose to take the path of least resistance in our lives, rather than opting for the strenuous path of spiritual growth, which requires us to learn new ways of seeing, being and acting in the world.
Here we can identify and learn to confront the dysfunctional patterns of self-defeating behaviors we have accumulated by force of habit, ancestral karma, or blood heritage over many lifetimes.
When the South Node is conjunct Pluto and Saturn there is an irresistible impulse to eradicate these ancient patterns of behavior that no longer serve us well, and to transform the way we see ourselves and the way we live in the world so that we can heal the wounds of the past and open up to new golden opportunities in the future.
With both Saturn and Pluto involved, this irresistible impulse is often thrust upon us by circumstances in our lives that leave us no choice but reform. There can be vast dramatic restrictions in our lives brought about by limiting factors in economic conditions, political struggles and environmental upheavals that require sweeping overhauls of our entire financial system, political system and our relationship to the ecosystem in general.
For individuals, this could mean a forced change in lifestyles, and a new cultural awareness. The culture of greed, celebrity and spectacle will most assuredly be challenged and a new culture that values sharing, mutual empowerment and discernment will begin to arise.
The cultural forces represented by Pluto and Saturn, the plutocracy so to speak, the 1%, the corporate chieftains, the elites that control the commanding heights of the global economy and the levers of power in the political systems of nation states, will definitely be challenged during this period.
But their power is also vastly amplified during this period, so we can expect new dramatic efforts to control tumultuous societies around the world by means of mass deception, digital surveillance, election tampering and sheer force of arms.
In the United States, where we have a Neptunian President, whose very existence serves to blur the lines between fact and fiction, there is no doubt that we shall see a struggle between the powers of plutocracy, masquerading as "populism" and the aspirations of the American people, who have been thwarted in their legitimate desires for a more just, peaceful, equitable, and environmentally sustainable society.
Jupiter in Sagittarius is also square Neptune in Pisces, through November of this year, which serves to aggravate and exaggerate the tendencies surfaced by the Neptune in Pisces archetype.
This should empower the Neptunian President Trump in his quest to mesmerize the American people, dismantle the post World War II American Global Multilateral Consensus, and undo all the progressive legislative and regulatory advances of the 20th century. Trump is no populist, but rather he is engaged in a vast reactionary campaign to disempower the vast majority of the American people, a campaign that will only benefit the plutocracy and result in wars of choice and catastrophic environmental damage worldwide.
Jupiter square Neptune in Pisces also has positive aspects, and it is possible that those pursuing the path of Spirit through selfless service to others, or through practices designed to elevate energies into the upper chakras or to spread love throughout the world will receive tremendous energetic support this year.
In short, now is the time to be clear in our own hearts and our own minds about our own goals and our own system of values. Now is the time to follow your heart, practice discernment and reject the tsunami of glamorous deceptions flowing throughout our lives and washing up on our many illuminated screens as digital fantasies designed to manipulate and control us.
In this way we will be open to recognizing golden opportunities to be of maximum service in the world, and we can begin to transform our self-limiting recurrent karmic patterns of behavior into new, creative, life-enhancing life styles that are in harmony with our Higher Purpose and with the web of life that surrounds and sustains us.
Jane and I send you Love and Light and Reiki Blessings this Full Moon, and we pray that you will receive the grace and guidance you need to achieve your spiritual and material goals. We hope you will join us in the following meditation designed to spread love, healing and forgiveness in alignment with the stellar forces at play this very Piscean Full Super Snow Moon Festival.
Here is a visualization you can do to stimulate the feeling of compassion and to send healing energy to suffering humanity.
Do deep breathing to a count of ten, and feel your energy body filling with light. Feel light flowing from your hands. 
Visualize the Source of Universal Life Force energy as a great ball of fire, a Celestial Sun, hovering above your head. Now, see the light energy streaming down from this Divine Source into your own being. Visualize this energy pouring into your crown chakra. Feel the warmth of the Celestial Sun on your head, and feel the warmth spread down across your forehead, your cheeks and into your neck and shoulders, streaming into your arms and down into your hands, until you can feel the energy tingling in your fingertips.
Allow this warm, nurturing energy to fill your entire body, as if your body were an empty vessel of glass. With your mind’s eye you can see the energy filling your body, and you can feel the warmth streaming down through your chest and stomach, filling your heart with warmth, light and love, warming and healing every organ along the way.
You feel the warmth and see the energy streaming into your hips, and down into your legs, pouring all the way into your feet, until you feel the warm brightness reach all the way into your toes.
Now visualize a person you know – perhaps the person you talked to on the telephone most recently, or whom you saw most recently at work or at home.
Feel the limitless light energy which has filled your being begin to overflow your heart and stream forth from your hands.
Visualize a golden stream of light energy passing from your hands and your heart to the place where your reality intersects with this person. See that golden light connecting with that intersection, which is the place where your relationship resides, and fill that intersection between you with warm, healing energy.
Now visualize your best friend. Feel the limitless light energy which has filled your being begin to overflow your heart and stream forth from your hands.
Visualize a golden stream of light energy passing from your hands and your heart to your best friend. See that golden light connecting to the place where your reality intersects with this close friend. See that golden light connecting with that intersection, which is the place where your relationship resides, and fill that intersection between you with warm, healing energy.
Now visualize your family and friends, gathered in a group around you. Feel the limitless light energy which has filled your being begin to overflow your heart and stream forth from your hands.
Visualize a golden stream of light energy passing from your hands and your heart to the place where your reality intersects with these friends and loved ones. See that golden light connecting with that intersection, which is the place where your relationship resides, and fill that intersection between you with warm, healing energy.
Now visualize an individual with whom you have been having difficulties. Someone who rubs you the wrong way, someone with whom you seem to have difficulty communicating, someone who seems to see the world totally differently from the way you see the world. Perhaps this is someone with whom you have quarrels, or even outright fights.
Imagine that this person is sitting next to you. Now imagine that this person is interacting with your spiritual teacher. You notice that your teacher can relate to them without conflict. Imagine that this difficult person is relating to their own friends and loved ones. Notice that they have no difficulty relating to these individuals. This is a clue to you that the difficulty in relating does not lie in the other, difficult individual, but rather in your own being. Allow that realization to sink into your mind, and rest with this new knowing.
Feel the limitless light energy which has filled your being begin to overflow your heart and stream forth from your hands.
Now visualize a golden stream of light energy passing from your hands and your heart to the place where your reality intersects with this difficult person. See that golden light connecting with that intersection, which is the place where your relationship resides, and fill that intersection between you with warm, healing energy.
Now visualize the entire world, filled with individuals who are all suffering from their own difficulties, their own wounds, their own fears, anger, unfulfilled desires, jealousy, impatience, and alienation. Imagine the three billion people who do not have enough to eat, or a place to live today.
Feel the limitless light energy which has filled your being begin to overflow your heart and stream forth from your body, mind and aura like clouds of luminous vapor, permeating the sky, multiplying until these clouds surround the planet, touching those who are suffering everywhere in the world.
Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)! The Sun-orbiting SOHO spacecraft has imaged many erupting filaments lifting off the active solar surface and blasting enormous bubbles of magnetic plasma into space. Direct light from the sun is blocked in the inner part of the featured image, taken in 2002, and replaced by a simultaneous image of the Sun in ultraviolet light. The field of view extends over two million kilometers from the solar surface., photo by NASA, public domain.
Visualize light energy streaming forth from the Radiant Sun above your head. See this luminous, warm, healing energy stream forth, connecting with all those who suffer – with all of humanity.
Continue to allow this light energy to pour forth from your heart, your hands and your mind into the world around you, enfolding those who are suffering in a stream of healing light.
Hold this image as long as you feel comfortable and simply feel the energy exchange as it continues.
Meditation Moment: Love Meditation
"When the energy of love is strong in us, we can send it to beings
in all directions. But we must not think that love meditation is
only an act of imagination--we imagine our love as being like waves
of sound or light, or like a pure, white cloud that forms slowly and
gradually spreads out to envelope the whole world. A true cloud
produces rain. Sound and light penetrate everywhere, and our love
must do the same. We have to observe whether our mind of love is
present in our actual contact with others. Practicing love
meditation in the sitting position is only the beginning."
~Thich Nhat Hanh
From the book,"Teachings On Love," published by Parallax Press.